“I like
to say, ‘There are two Andrews now,” he tells me, sitting on a covered porch
next to sun-drenched vines at his Santa Ynez backcountry winery. “I love
this new outlet. It’s more refreshing, and it’s liberating.”

He’s
talking about his new brand – a wine trio dubbed “This is E11even Wines” –
which launched its newest releases just this past Saturday. Here in the
Tri-Counties, it’s carried exclusively by Whole Foods Market; you won’t even
find them at the Andrew Murray tasting room in Los Olivos. But at the
price – currently $14.99 a bottle – these may well be Santa Barbara County ’s
very best value wines in the market right now.

Of
course, this new chapter in Murray ’s life is part of a story 20 years in the
making. At age 18, he entered the wine business when his family planted a
vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Andrew Murray label’s first
commercial release was 1994, though its first “decent vintage” – the
winemaker’s words, not mine – was 1997. Today, the brand is synonymous
with some of the state’s premier Rhone wines, from sell-out vineyard-designate
syrahs (Murray’s 2010 Terra Bella Vineyard syrah out of Paso Robles just earned
93 points from Wine Spectator) to wildly popular blends (his famous Tous les
Jours blend of syrah from multiple Santa Ynez Valley vineyards accounts for
half of the label’s yearly 8000-case production).

But his
family’s decision to sell its namesake vineyard ranch in 2005 became a
crossroads for Murray ; the loss of the estate grapes that fueled a thriving
brand, and a winemaker’s own identity, led him professionally – and personally
– to reassess, rethink and redirect.

This is
E11even Wines, then, was the product of some serious soul-searching.

The label
first hit the marketplace in 2011; but the winemaker admits the brand has only
now – with the three wines released a few days ago – found its stride, thanks
to a three-pronged focus on price, blends and packaging.

On price:
it’s refreshing to see that a great Santa Barbara County wine, made by a guy
clearly preceded by a stellar reputation, can cost under $15. To be
clear, the introductory $14.99 price tag is meant to promote the brand new
Whole Foods splash; when the brand eventually hits other markets – mainly East
Coast outlets like Boston and New York , as well as very limited presence in Los
Angeles -- the price will creep up another dollar or two. But the huge
value to the consumer is unmistakable; keep in mind that the price tag on the
Andrew Murray line of wines averages twice as much. “As an entrepreneur,
I am fully aware that I have to be profitable,” says Murray . “But when
you get ego out of it and you sharpen your pencil, pricing a wine like this is
totally possible.”

On the
blends: Murray says his approach to winemaking hasn’t changed and that
quality-for-price still reigns supreme. But this new label has become a
fresh outlet for a certain amount of irreverence, allowing Murray to create
blends that buck industry expectations or take him outside his own Rhone
comfort zone. The 2011 Unplugged is a 50-50 white blend of chenin blanc
and sauvignon blanc and is a delicious, fresh, bright drink. The 2010 Big
Bottom Red is a nearly 50-50 blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon (“I
think cab franc is the best Bordeaux grape we’re growing in the Valley,” Murray
declares) and is a bold, balanced wine with a supple mouth feel, generous fruit
and a wild edge. The third wine in this lineup is a pinot noir featuring
five clones that Murray, himself, planted six years ago on a Santa Maria ranch
near Rancho Sisquoc that’s owned by his father-in-law; Murray’s made pinot for
private clients for years but never before for his own label, and this one
exhibits an archetypal pinot nose and tart, fleshy flavors that counterpoints
many of the oft-overly extracted pinot noirs coming out of our area.

On the
packaging: this is where Murray ’s creativity – “Flights of fancy in my sleep,”
he calls it – may shine brightest. This is E11ven is inspired by Murray
’s favorite movie of all time, the mockumentary Spinal Tap. “Growing up,
I had no musical talent whatsoever,” he admits, “but I was a music nerd – that
geeky kid who always hung out at record stores.” Murray admits to
watching the movie, or clips from it, more than 100 times and asserts that the
flick, which pokes fun at popular rock movies by the rock heavyweights like Led
Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, “defined my generation!” In it, the “This is
eleven” phrase is used to signify anything that goes to the extreme and
surpasses expectations. Similarly, these wines are a revelation at their
price. And the rock-and-roll motif is alive and well throughout.

The
12-bottle case box for the This is E11even Wines resembles a vintage
black-and-white music amplifier. The labels on the wine bottles are
round, like a vinyl record. Those classic rock lightning bolts (the logo
of the edgy rock group AC/DC features one prominently) appear throughout.
Press materials for the brand are being distributed to media through flash
drives that look like cassette tapes. Murray even designed a black rock-and-roll
tour T-shirt to promote his new venture.

“I think
people these days are pushing back against all things digital,” Murray tells
me. “People are making mixed tapes again. Converse are cool
again. Levi’s are as cool as they’ve ever been. So with these wines,
we’re riding the wave of retro-cool!”

The
current total production of This is E11even Wines (www.thisis11.com) stands around 900, though
Murray intends to grow it to five or six thousand in the next couple of years.

The
winemaker admits that his biggest challenge with the new brand is personal:
learning to balance a long-standing, serious, uncompromising approach to
winemaking with a product that’s fun, uncomplicated and widely appealing by
design is not necessarily easy.

But as I
hear Murray speak of this new outlet – and I’ve been lucky to chat wine with
him many times over the years – I detect a newfound sense of pride, confidence
and satisfaction. It’s a refreshing turn of a new page, which is part and
parcel to the personality of the new brand, itself. And as this winemaker
flourishes anew, to his imbibing public go the spoils.

About Me

Welcome to the online home of Gabe Saglie. Gabe is Senior Editor for Travelzoo and a respected travel contributor for dozens of TV news programs and national shows. Gabe is also a longtime wine and food writer based in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, two boys and daughter.